Royal Screw up
by Iloveyoutenshi
Summary: Princess Hermione is on the run and she ends up being hauled off to the Royal Family, Malfoy's Kingdom where she ends up as a personal maid of none other than our Dark Prince, Draco Malfoy. What will befall them? Read to find out!
1. Chapter 1

Hello there! It has been awhile since I've written stories so please spare me, I'm open to reviews and criticisms as long as they're not too well, mean.

Summary:

The different royal families have many underlying issues, such as good and bad relations with other families and the wedding issues of their children to continue the Royal line. Where there are good and just Royal families, there will always be the darker and not-so-just families.

Read and find out what happens!

**Chapter 1: Leaving**

"Your Highness, it is already mid-morning. It is about time you woke up, my dear!" A shrill voice screeched at a still, slim figure under the silk covers of her duvet. The lady whom the voice belonged to shook her head sadly and walked up to the princess that she had been taking care of since she was a baby.  
>"I don't want to wake up, Pamelia. There's nothing good out there anyway." A muffled voice said from under the duvet. Pamelia gave a sympathetic smile and placed a consoling hand on the girls' head. She knew that nothing could be done to help the dear girl she treated almost like her own.<p>

_Flashback:_

_"Hermione dear, you must not be so selfish! She has been serving us faithfully, however she has her own family to go back to!" Her highness reprimanded calmly,placing a neatly cut piece of fish into her mouth and daintily folded her hands in her lap.  
>"But mom! It's not fai-" Hermione retorted back but got interrupted almost immediately by her father, "Jean! That is enough. The decision is final, Pamelia leaves us next Monday and that is that. Now eat your meal quietly or I will have to send you back to your room."<br>"I don't want to be here even if you chained me to this chair anyway!" Hermione shouted back, pushed her chair back angrily and stormed out of the dining hall. Not even waiting for the doormen to open them, but opening them herself, which was absolutely forbidden. _

_End of flashback_

"It's not fair, Pamelia. If you leave, I'll be left here to deal with the firing squad alone! I'm sorry for being so selfish but it is just so unimaginable to be here in this prison without you!" Hermione whined but slowly emerging from her covers. She stared at her favourite nanny with affectionate eyes and slowly sat up, facing Pamelia eye to eye.  
>"I am sorry, my dear. But it has been decided, I have been away from my own children for too long," the kind lady said with a small smile. "You have grown to be such a beautiful young maiden, your highness. I have seen you grow for these past eighteen years; your first step, your first word, your first book, your first A on your examinations!" She continued, placing a loving hand on Hermione's cheek. "You will continue to grow beautifully, with, or without me. I will always visit you if you ever require me to. Now abide to your parents orders and wake up, will you? Or you will be the absolute death of me till the very end!" She ended with a light playful slap on Hermione's cheek. Pamelia stood up and walked to the door and paused, turning back to look at Hermione.<br>"You will be alright, my dear. You are strong." She said with a smile and she walked out, closing the door behind her with a small click.

Hermione's POV: 

So here's my side of the story. I was more of an accidental child, one that wasn't really called or wished for. Sure, my parents, both royal, are amazing to me. But I'll never be able to compete with my elder brother. I was taken care of mostly by Pamelia since I was born, mostly because my parents were both busy ruling whatever they owned and making sure Zack grew up to be the perfect King. So I was just like the little girl to adore and then move on. I think I'm pretty smart for my age and seeing that I'm a girl. Girls in royal families are normally pretty dumb, but then again, we're not expected to do much besides marry into rich families and be pretty and give birth to babies.

I think I'm easily as smart as Zack who is 3 years older than me, even he says so himself. Although my parents do not try and make it imminent that the throne will be going to my brother, it is easily obvious seeing as I have rejected over 10 different princes that have come to seek to be married into our family. Our family is one of the more prestigious royal families throughout the country and is well known easily around the world. Sure, the princes that have come are rather dashing and all, but they are all just too.. Stupid. I can barely hold a five-minute conversation with them, like a proper one, without them breaking out into poems (which are memorized) and shouting out their love for me.

Pfft, like they could even love me. They just want my familys' money and authority. I have to find a way out of this hell hole, there just has to be some kind of escape route. I could easily pull off being a better Prince than of a Princess. Hell, I can't even look princess-y, hardly anybody even sees me as a princess anyway. It isn't easy, being this way. Putting on really fluffy annoying dresses, smiling at everyone like I actually like them. I mean why couldn't anyone be intelligent in this world? Well, besides the people who actually do the work.

We all still had our wizarding powers, but somehow we hardly used them besides fighting enemies. I loved my powers and took every opportunity to learn more from everyone else I met in the castle, even the guards. Some of the guards refused to teach me, saying that princesses were mean't to do embroidery and learn how to walk like a lady rather than to point wands and shoot spells. But after some persuasion, I managed to get some of the guards to give way and teach me a few "defensive" spells. But as they slowly began to taught me, they slowly opened up and decided that I was much more worth teaching than my brother who could barely even cast a waking up spell.

I get up and put on the dress-holy crap how is this even legal to wear. And frustratingly stomp into my very overly large bathroom to freshen up. I look at myself in the mirror as two of my maids run in and help me fluff up my hair and straighten out my dress for me. I stand still and just give them a weak smile, waiting for them to finish whatever perfecting they needed to do. Not that it would make any difference, since I hardly look the part of the Princess anyway.

I planned the escape in my head, slowly building up the story. I knew I could do this, I've been lying all my life after all. I loved my family, even my brother, but this just wasn't the place for me. I needed to go somewhere else.

The two girls finally finished their work on me and they bowed slightly and walked out without another word. Normally I would talk with them, but I'm guessing they thought I wouldn't feel like talking today. I defy my beloved maids and pull on my comfortable sneakers and walk to the dining hall, trying to make sure my dress hid the fact that I wasn't wearing the heels I was supposed to wear 24/7.

I nodded at whatever was said politely to me but mostly gave my parents the cold shoulder. I replied them pertly though, because ignoring them completely would be absolutely rude and preposterous in front of guests. This morning, it was the lovely family of Weasley that came to join us. I really adored the Weasley family for their zest and excitement but today was just not the day for me to laugh at the Twin Princes pranks and the company of my fellow Princess friend, Ginny Weasley. We were friends since we were kids, seeing as our parents had been close since back in the day.

"Are you alright?" Ron said to her with his mouth full of food. Hermione wanted to literally wack Ron for talking to her with his mouth full which was just plain disgusting. Just because she wasn't ladylike doesn't mean she liked seeing mashed food in Ron's abnormally large mouth. "Ronald, please stop speaking with your mouth full." Hermione replied pertly with a dismissive nod as she continued slicing up her sausages on her plate.  
>"I really have to do something about this, I can hardly stand it anymore." She thought to herself as she laid out a calender in her head. Pamelia was leaving on Monday, which means she could leave on Monday, right after she left. No one would notice her disappearance for awhile, thinking that she was just hiding out because she was sad that Pamelia was gone, they would probably not search for her till it became dark. She nodded to herself and placed the cut-up sausage into her mouth and chewed as she continued laying out where she would go.<p>

Probably to the village she went to so often to visit the orphanages and give extra food to the villagers there. The thing was, outside the rich kingdoms, there lay poverty all over the lands. The lands owned by the Granger family were not as bad off as some of the other villages she had seen, those that belonged to other kingdoms such as the Malfoy, Zabini and Nott families. Those were the worst off seeing as most of the younger men and women were shipped off into the kingdom, made to work there under good pay, however they weren't allowed back into the village. Hermione had disguised herself many a time, slipping into the other villages and giving them money and food secretly. None of the villagers had such information or even a photo of the royal people from other kingdoms. They probably didn't even know the faces of the Royals that owned their villages. But that was besides the point, Hermione needed a place to stay before dark hit and she knew she could probably stay a night at the orphanage, seeing as she had a good friendship with the lady in her mid-forties.

**End of Chapter 1**

****_Hope you liked it! RnR please! _


	2. Chapter 2

Here's the second chapter! I will try to update as much as possible, but school is back again tomorrow so I'll see what I can do. X

**Chapter 2: Plans**

"Father, isn't it enough that half of the people on our lands are dying? At least feed the servants well won't you?" A blonde-haired boy said with a drawl to the man sitting at the head of the dining table. He stared at the man with his cold silver eyes as if challenging his own father to a duel.  
>"Draco, if you would rather I feed the servants than you, then I beseech you," his father replied with the same tone and a raise of his eyebrow, "give them your food if you think it is that necessary." Draco Malfoy, the well-known Prince was absolutely furious with how his parents handled the things they owned. He was brought up since young to only care about himself, his family name and nothing else. But all was not lost with Draco, seeing as the only company he enjoyed was the company of the select few servants that worked in his castle.<p>

He would never admit to being friends with the help to his parents for he knew that his parents would fire them or easily kill them off within seconds, not wanting their one and only precious son to be corrupted by such.. low-lifes. Draco kept to himself mostly, hardly talking to his parents even, unless necessary. He was slightly more affectionate to his mother, seeing as he knew she cared for him. But all she did was obey his father's orders which made her just about the same as him, greedy and merciless. The blonde boy looked around the grand dining hall, knowing that he should be grateful for all he had, but all he felt was trapped. He knew his parents were trying to marry him into another rich family, who knew which one. But he had flatly rejected every single Princess that had visited his castle as they asked to talk to him. He had no interest in interacting with another bimbo who knew absolutely nothing of the world. How he could even communicate with such a human being was out of the question.

Draco Malfoy was an intelligent man of 18 years, he knew all about battle and the knowledge of the world. But he had never been able to leave the castle grounds once due to his parents insistent rules that he was to either stay in the Malfoy castle or apparate to the other castles. They were terrified that he would be over taken by beasts in the wilderness or something. "Like that would happen." Draco thought to himself with a smirk. He stood up without another word and strode out of the dining hall and into his room, slamming his door shut behind him.

"What's up, Draco?" Draco looked up to see his best friend since he was born lying casually on the couch near the window. The drapes were opened much to Draco's dismay and he rushed to close them.  
>"You know I hate it when the drapes are open, Blaise," Draco growled as he pulled them shut with one movement of his arm. Blaise chuckled, sat up and suddenly looked at Draco seriously.<br>"My parents are thinking to get me married into the Weasley family." He stated simply without any expression. Draco was slightly taken aback but he didn't show it, he instead, walked to his bed and sat down.  
>"What are your plans? I never imagined your parents would want to even talk to the Weasley Family, seeing as they are all so just and all." Draco replied, scanning Blaise's face for any emotion.<br>"Well, I have no plans whatsoever. I have no objections either, seeing as their daughter is one hot babe." Blaise said, his mouth turning up at the sides. "But, I can see that my parents are trying to plan something and I have no idea what. Next thing you know, your parents will be marrying you into the Parkinson Family." He continued, returning to his former serious tone.

"Well, what our parents are planning has nothing to do with me. If you want to marry the Weaslette, go ahead. Just make sure you know what you're getting into," Draco said nonchalantly. Blaise stood up and put his hand on Draco's shoulder, giving him a pat and apparated back home.

"Good-bye, your highness," Pamelia said with tears in her eyes as she bowed down onto her knee, holding Hermione's hand in hers and placing her hand to her forehead. "May we meet again in the future." Hermione knew Pamelia couldn't say much seeing as her parents were there, but all that had to be said had been said the night before.  
>"Pamelia, I'll miss you, travel safe." Hermione choked out, pulling up Pamelia into a hug. Some of the servants present who did not serve Hermione gasped, not knowing what a compassionate Princess she really was. Hermione graciously gave Pamelia a quick peck on the cheek and pushed her gently towards the carriage that awaited her. At last, she was gone.<p>

Hermione's POV:

I walked slowly back to my room, knowing that no one would try to comfort or find me. I was still sad about Pamelia, but I knew I had to put my plan into action otherwise I wouldn't have another perfect opportunity. I quickly slid out of the uncomfortable dress and put on a outfit I had uh-borrowed from the guard I learnt my spells from. I quickly put on the hood and grabbed the rucksack I had packed all my things inside. I had put an extension charm on it, making it fit all of the stacks of clothes, money and food.

I slowly drew the curtains and peeked outside, checking that there was no one downstairs and apparated myself down. My parents didn't know I could apparate and neither did any of the guards. I had learnt secretly, by reading books in the library. It was rather easily, really. I just had to make sure I didn't get splinched. I knew I couldn't apparate out of the castle grounds though, but I already had a escape route planned. There was one section of the brick wall surrounding the castle that was weak and could be easily broken down by a simple spell. I ran to it and quickly took out my wand and did a non-verbal spell, not wanting to make too much noise.

Much to my dismay the bricks flew further than I had expected and one of them crashed through the glass window. I didn't even bother looking back to see if I had been caught and ran into the dark woods. I had a lot of practice of climbing and jumping from tree to tree in the fake forest that we had in the castle grounds. Those forests were to train the guards in case of emergencies. I continued moving, not daring to stop, in case I got caught and finally after about twenty minutes of running, I decided it was okay to take a small break. I sat myself on a rather high branch and pulled on my hood again.

I knew I was pretty good with directions but I recheck my direction by casting a spell and noticed that i was slightly off track. Nothing that couldn't be fixed. I was going to visit the Village of Rod first, seeing as I was friends with the owner of the Orphanage and she would definitely give me a place to stay. She thought that I was a maid working at the Granger Castle and that I was being ill-treated there. Most of the servants aren't really mistreated in my castle though, seeing as I make sure that they aren't. I rather not hire house elves, but then I think its better for us to have them than the other families that'll ill-treat them, right?

I jump down from the lowest branch of the tree and decide to walk the rest of the way seeing as the woods here were so large and I had a better advantage of running than the other guards from my palace did. I snuck out way more than anyone even knew. Most of the time I would just ask the guard at the gate to just let me off, but I couldn't risk that this time round, seeing as I wasn't going back and he could be held responsible. I reach the village in about half an hour of walking and I head straight to the orphanage. The village wasn't that big, but it definitely wasn't under good condition. A lot of the buildings were almost in ruins and half of the people lived on the food they grew on the fields which wasn't much either.

"Rion! So glad you could come again, the kids have been asking for you," A kind soft voice called out to Hermione from the entrance of the orphanage. Hermione looked up to see her old friend, standing with a baby in her arms. She seemed to look even more frail than the last time she came, but much healthier than when Hermione first met her.

_Flashback:_

_"Hello? Is anybody in here?" Hermione called out as she stood at the entrance of the ruined building. The small boy in her arms kept pointing inside and struggled in her arms as if he was trying to tell her that there was somebody was in the dark room. Hermione decided to investigate further and put the boy gently down, taking out her wand and casting the lumos spell. Immediately she gasped as she saw the number of still bodies on the floor. She quickly ran to the lady with ratted blonde hair and was surrounded by several children. She checked her pulse and was relieved to find that she was still alive. Hermione examined the rest of her body to see if there were any signs of frostbite. The warmth they had all shared had spared each of them from literally freezing to death here. _

_She looked at every single child and the lady and saw how skinny and frail they all were. Their ribs were protruding out and their legs were almost like sticks. Hermione brought her hand to her mouth as she dragged her feet to what was left of a fireplace and started a fire, attempting to warm up the building. How the small boy was the only one still conscious was a mystery to her. The cold weather and the lack of nutrition must have gotten to them, leading them to fall into a deep sleep, but how long their sleep could last before they died was not known to Hermione._

_The little boy who had dragged her in tugged at her shirt and tried to signal to her something with his hands. He cupped his hands together and brought them to his mouth. Water. They needed water. Hermione immediately stuck her hand into her bag and took out her water stachel, placing it to the lady's lips first, seeing as she was probably the one in charge of taking care of all the kids. She slowly tended to the other kids as well, giving them small sips of water, not too much and then laying them down carefully. She quickly set to work and took out the herbs she needed to treat some of the sick kids. _

_The lady's eyes slowly flickered open, adjusting to the light in the room. She sat up almost immediately and looked around frantically. "Its okay, I've taken care of the children. They're all alive." Hermione said quietly as she walked towards her. Hermione set a small bowl of broth in front of her and gave a small smile.  
>"I will stay here for a couple of days and try to help you fix this place, I can't imagine what has happened here but the rest of the villagers aren't as worse of as the kids here." Hermione continued and walked to tend to the children again.<em>

_The lady looked at Hermione in disbelief. Most of the villagers had given hope in trying to help the orphans, most of them could barely help themselves. The village had been hit by a cold snap for 2 consecutive days and the building hardly provided any warmth for the children and her, she took the bowl in between her petite hands and drank it slowly. The warmth from the broth gave her enough strength to stand up and sit beside the kids that were lying near her saviour. _

_"Thank you so much, how could I ever repay you.." The lady said earnestly, bowing down her head. _

_End of flashback_

"May, it's good to be back. I missed the kids too." Hermione replied with a genuine smile. She rarely gave genuine smiles to anyone in the castle because she felt so fake back there, but out here she felt as if she really was Rion Cross, the maidservant in Granger Castle. The kids all ran out to her with their hands wide open waiting for hugs. Some even jumping up to her trying to catch her attention.

Hermione laughed as she picked up the children one by one, calling each of their names and giving them each an apple from her bag. She knew she had to ration the amount of food she gave first, seeing as she still hadn't decided on where to go. But apples were easily found in the castle and she had taken almost a whole crate. Thank God the bag she carried only weighed a quarter of what was really inside her bag, if not she would have been trudging the bag. The bag was still very heavy, nevertheless, but nothing she couldn't handle. The children happily ran inside and munched on their apples with tiny giggles.

"So, how's it going here?" Hermione asked May as she tossed an apple to her too. May caught it swiftly and bit out a small piece, giving it to the baby she was carrying.  
>"Oh you know, its been better ever since you've helped us out. The kids are starting to actually gain some weight and are able to run about a lot. But really, we can't make too many drastic changes, lest the castle guards come and find us out." She explained with a kind smile.<br>Hermione paused, wondering whether it was a good time to ask if she could stay and decided she should ask now while the kids were still too busy eating to come back to her.  
>"May, I wanted to ask a favour. Could I-" Hermione began to ask and she stared at the ground. "Whatever it is you need, Rion. I'll happily do it for you. You saved our lives after all." May said without a second thought. Hermione looked at her gratefully and gave her a hug, making sure the baby wasn't strangled though, of course.<p>

"Thank you, May. It'll just be for a couple of days before I can find out where to go." Hermione replied and made her way back into the room to play with the children. How could it be that people who had so little could offer all they had and people who had so much could offer almost nothing. It was so unimaginable and selfish to her.

**End of Chapter 2**

****Hope you liked it! RnR please!


	3. Chapter 3

So glad to see that there are actually some people reading! I hope you guys can leave me some tips on what I could do better! I'm open to comments!

**Chapter 3: Hide**

"Wait, so you ran away from the castle? Is that even allowed?" May asked, clearly concerned for Rion's (Or Hermione's) safety. Hermione gave a sheepish smile as she clothed the small children that were still rubbing the sleep out of their eyes. It was only 9 o'clock but Hermione knew that she had to find a place to hide. The guards would have been looking for the whole night seeing as she broke that brick wall down and they would probably head here seeing it as the next nearest Village to come to aside from the village a few miles from the castle. This village was at least 5 miles further than the other village, but the guards had horses and all she came on was on foot. Seeing as she was fast she knew she could get away fast enough. But she knew she had to find a better place to hide.

"I did leave a resignation letter.. But well, I don't know how well they'll take it?" Hermione replied after some time. She had to figure out a way to tell her the truth, because once the guards came to question May, she would've been found out immediately. She was about to ask May for advice on where she could stay and maybe even earn some money. Hermione knew that the economic situation in the Village of Rod had improved to the point that most of them were working, not at amazing incomes but nevertheless they earned enough to scrape to buy food for their families.

Hermione was about to ask when there was a loud knock on the front door which was shut.  
>"Hello? May Riveria? We are the guards from Granger Castle, we have a warrant to search every village and every building. Open up or we will have to knock down the door." A deep voice commanded from the door. Hermione immediately jumped up and looked around earnestly for a place to hide. But before she could take a step, she felt herself being pulled towards the storage room, shoved in and left in the darkness. She heard a click of a key being turned and Hermione began to panic. Did May want to give her back to the Granger Castle? Had she actually found out about her from the past month that she hadn't visited? Seeing as the village had become more advanced, maybe they received newspapers or even pictures on what the Royals looked like.<p>

She heard the front door opening and the kids shushing each other. "Good Morning Sirs, I understand your demands. B-but," May greeted with a slight stutter, she cleared her throat before she asked, "May I ask what you are in search of?"  
>"Although that is confidential information, I guess it is alright to tell you since you seem to have the most reason to not want your uh-" The guard pauses as if he was thinking of what word to use for such an establishment. " Your home to be overturned, seeing as you have many children to take care of. Worry not, however, we are in search of Princess Hermione Jean Granger. It seems she has been either kidnapped or run away." The guard ended, clicking his tongue as if he did not believe for one second that <em>the<em> Princess Hermione Jean Granger was actually kidnapped.

It was not that surprising that that thought was doubted, seeing as she was talented in the use of spells and of close combat. She could also run as fast as any of the guards and everyone knew of her devastation of the leave of her nanny. Hermione slowly sorted out the options she had, she could easily blast the cupboard door into pieces and make a run for it, but that would mean she would have to go through the guards, who knew how many there were, and her spells could easily deflect to any of the children there. But if she didn't do that, she would have to wait till the guards were all surrounded around her till May, her so called friend, had unlocked and opened the cupboard door.

Hermione knew that although she had absolute dislike for May now and even wished a tiny bit that she hadn't saved her, she still had morals that told her not to risk the childrens' safety. She tried to strain her ears but she couldn't hear anything anymore but the slow shifting of feet. Maybe they were going to surprise her, but it was alright. She was ready. She wasn't going to use any magic that was for sure, she had only her combat to rely on. Hermione braced herself, ready to jump out and waited... and waited...  
>Finally after a minute or so, she let herself relax. What was going on? Were they discussing how to tie her up or just grab her the moment she jumped out? Before she could ponder any longer, she heard the soft sound of a click and the white light which blinded her. But she didn't let it stop her, she gained her momentum back a second later but nevertheless pounced out and fell on solid cold ground. She jumped up immediately, guarding herself as she had been so well taught, blinking continuously ,trying to adjust herself to the light again.<p>

Slowly she looked around and realized that there was no one but May standing beside the cupboard, staring at her quite strangely and suddenly it fit.

All along, May had been defending her. May didn't doubt her for a second, even when the guards had told her they were looking for the missing princess, May hadn't let out. And here she was, lying to May, doubting May and was even a second close to killing her. Hermione immediately looked at the floor, feeling terribly embarrassed at how she had acted and then looked up to May, knowing she owed her an apology.

"I'm so sorry, May. You have given me so much hospitality and all I have done is lied over and over again. Let me explain-" Hermione began, trying to look May straight in the eyes.  
>"It's alright, Rion. I'm sure you have your circumstances, but the truth is still the fact that you saved the children as well as me a few years back." She interrupted with a kind smile. Hermione blinked unbelievably a couple of times and then stepped in to hug May without a second thought.<br>"Thank you." Hermione choked out, blinking back her tears. She never knew how much it mean't to her, to actually have an ally outside the castle. Even inside the castle, having the help as allies hardly worked out since if she was ever caught spending too much time with an individual servant or maid, they would be forced to work at another sector where she would hardly ever get to meet them. She knew, because she had experienced it time and time again.

Hermione knew that she had to get away fast before they realized she actually had been hidden here and she needed to go somewhere where they wouldn't be able to find her. She wracked her brains thinking of somewhere to go when May suddenly spoke as if she had read her mind.  
>"There's the Malfoy Castle. They used to take in all the young people but recently they've had so many kicked out that they decided to put each and every individual through a test. Their test is apparently rather ridiculous but those that pass get really good pay as well as a good place to stay. Previously, each of the servants stayed in the servant quarters which weren't very nice at all. But apparently their standards have been raised a bit." May explained quickly but she looked rather nervous.<br>"But Rion, you have to know, once you get in there there is probably no way for you to get out until you get wrinkles or you become ugly. Which is probably impossible since I bet you'll look absolutely beautiful even when you turn eighty!" May gasped out in one breath. She didn't know what else to do than to try and help Hermione, the one who had saved her life once before.

"The Malfoy Castle huh.. Well, I guess its worth a try. I don't plan on going back to the Granger Castle any time soon.. But I've heard a lot of rumors about the Malfoy Castle. Met them before too-" Hermione bit her tongue as she realized she had overstepped what she had mean't to reveal. "I mean uh, well yes. Anyway, what happens to those who don't pass the test?" She asked, trying to cover up her mistake.

"Well, I'm not very sure. You probably don't get to work in the castle itself. They might send you off to some other castle or just make you work outside the castle. Their castle is really big and there are actually people from all around the world trying to become a servant at their castle since the pay is really good. The thing about it is that although you need to stay there for most of your life and are hardly let out, you're allowed to send the money you earn back to your family. A lot of the girls trying to enter though, are trying to win the Princes heart. Not that the they would even stand a chance with a Prince anyway." May sniffed, finding it all rather ridiculous. To risk your freedom just to be near a prince.

To Hermione, it wasn't a big surprise. She knew how much people wanted to be part of a royal family, but no one ever knew what really happened inside the castle walls. Although it sounded as if May did, Hermione raised an eyebrow but decided not to ask, seeing as she was already in her debt. Hermione nodded to herself, deciding to enter the test and get into the castle. She wasn't sure of what kind of test she would be given, maybe scrubbing the floor or something.

"May, thank you so much. I'll go to the Malfoy Castle and don't you worry, I'll definitely be back to visit." Hermione said with a large grin as she grabbed her bag and went to say a quick goodbye to the children. May stood at the door and waved with the children till they couldn't see Hermione's back anymore.  
>"She'll make it. She is the Princess who saved us after all." May whispered to herself as the children ran back inside to eat the sweets that Hermione had left. As May walked back into the small kitchen to prepare lunch for the children, she found a large bag of golden coins inside the pantry where she kept the bread she was planning to use. She gasped and ran back to the door, hoping to return it all to Rion but she was already far gone.<p>

May smiled as tears fell from her eyes.

"Thank you again, your highness"

**End of chapter.**

****Hope you liked it! Please review!


	4. Chapter 4

Hello! Thank you for all the feedback and reviews! I will take note of the points to try and make the story better.

**Chapter 4: The first trial**

Hermione trudged her way through the forest, trying to remember how far away the Malfoy Castle was. She knew she was pretty much in the right direction, but before she entered the castle she should at least dress more appropriately. She had even stashed in one of the lesser extravagant dresses she had in case of any situation. She knew that no one else would be travelling inside the forest, seeing as there was only the few places that you could go to through this forest. Most were Castles that already had structured roads to travel by, the only living things in the forest was the birds and the more harmless mammals, like deers and rabbits.

Hermione swiftly climbed up the nearest tree, checking to see how close she was to the castle. As she hoisted herself up high enough to see, she could tell that it was probably only another 5 minutes away. It was incredibly large, maybe even larger than her old home. She finally decided it was about time she changed into a more appropriate attire, rather than her man-like attire. She quickly slipped out of the clothes and slid into the dress. She smoothed out her dress that she had picked out beforehand and packed her bag again. She hoped the dress wasn't too extravagant, she had already chosen the least gorgeous looking one in her wardrobe, but it still had tiny pearls embedded at the collar, a lace ending at the frills and was made from silk. Thank goodness that they would hide her comfortable shoes as the hem of the dress was incredibly long. She smoothed out her dress and quickly headed to the direction of the path to the Castle.

Hermione reached the road, taking more time than expected as she tried to keep her dress clean and away from the muddy ground. She stuck out her head to check if there was anyone on the road as seeing a girl coming out of the forest was far from normal. She nodded as she saw the coast was clear and continued walking along the road, up to the castle. It was even larger up close and getting in wasn't much of a problem. The guard had seemed to be rather clueless about the ongoings of the tests and he walked her to the grand hall.

Hermione's POV:

This is plain crazy. Crazy. How many people wanted to sign up for this job! Or slavery. I prodded quietly into the hall from the large doors where the guard had left me. There had to be more than a million people in this giant hall, and even with the hall being so large and grand in every single way, it seemed as if another million could still fit inside. And I thought _my family _was well to do, the Malfoy's certainly knew how to live large. Not that I am surprised, I still remember the first time I had seen the Malfoy family.

_Flashback_

_"Good Afternoon, King and Queen Malfoy." A tiny girl with auburn curls greeted with a small curtsy. She had been told firmly by her parents that these guests were important and she had planned to keep her promise to be as perfect as she could be. She straightened after receiving a small dismissive-like from the King and a small smile and greeting from the Queen. Hermione looked at the small boy that was around her age who hung around the Queen. He stared at her with his piercing silver eyes and looked away as quickly as he had met her glance. _

_She felt blood rushing to her cheeks and quickly waved the thought of his silver eyes from her mind as she led them to the meeting room where her parents were waiting for the Malfoys. Hermione didn't know what was happening but she was told to accompany the Prince as the adults had their meeting.  
>"I'm Hermione Granger, what's your name?" Hermione asked politely trying to manage a small smile to the boy who stood beside her awkwardly as his parents went inside and closed the door on them both.<br>"Draco." He muttered, looking at everywhere but Hermione. She found this funny and laughed inwardly to herself, not letting her laugh show. She led him to the garden where she played with her best friend._

_"Crookshanks!" Hermione called out loudly much to Draco's shock. Before he could recover from hearing a princess, of all people, screaming at the top of her voice, a large orange thing ran up to her but stopped abruptly after realizing Draco's presence.  
>"What is this.. thing?" Draco asked rather shocked at the furry animal. "Isn't this a beast?" He questioned again, not daring to go anywhere near it and stepped a few steps back. Hermione let out a small smile and said "This is Crookshanks, my dog. She's really lovely, really. She is rather like a cat though, but will protect those that she loves." <em>

_"Come here, let out your palm and introduce yourself," Hermione said softly to Draco, trying to be gentle and hoping that Crookshanks would like him. Draco reluctantly took slow steps towards the still beast-like animal to him, and thrust out his palm as though defiantly. Crookshanks sniffed it and stared into his large silver orbs, staring for quite a long time till she eventually gave his palm a small lick. _

_"There! She likes you! Now pat her on the head, she really is lovely, isn't she?" Hermione rambled on excitedly. _

_End of flashback_

I remember the son, he was rather handsome back then, who knew how he looked now. All I knew though was that the villages under their castle were hardly ever well taken care of and their servants were hardly well taken off and were easily slaughtered off like pigs. She remembered how the King was like, dismissive and ruthless against those who went against him. She deeply hoped that the Prince she had met back then didn't turn out the same way.

I finally got back to reality when someone crashed into me, making me stumble slightly.  
>"Woah! I'm so sorry!" He said apologetically and grabbed my arm helping me to keep balance. I looked up and examined him closely. He was probably about 18 to 20, was rather muscular and had amazing scarlet eyes behind his round spectacles.<br>"It's alright, really." I replied earnestly with one of my fake reassuring smiles. He stared at me for a few seconds and suddenly lit up, as if he had made a decision.  
>"I'm Harry Potter and you are?" He introduced himself good-naturedly. I was rather stunned for a split second but recovered quickly. This wasn't the castle, she was free to make friends.<p>

"I am Rion Cross. Nice to meet you, are you signing up too?" I replied while glancing around, trying to escape his scarlet eyes. They seemed so mesmerizing and she felt as if she'd drown in them if she looked too long.

"Welcome all to the Qualifying test!" A loud voice boomed, shushing everyone instantaneously. "We hold this every 6 months as all of you should already know and we have different tests every time. However if you have already tried to enter this castle before through this test three times, we will have to request you to leave as it would just be a waste of our time." The speaker bluntly said.

Hermione noticed quite a number of people leaving disappointedly, muttering in discontent.

"Now, today you will be tested on three things. Survival, serving and knowledge! You have all been given your different group numbers. All of you have been split into three groups and all tests will be held simultaneously. After you have finished your test, move on to the next test when the rest of your group has completed the task. If you are asked to leave the premise, you are to leave without question. Any disagreement will lead to violence. Now! Group 1, head to the training forest. Group 2 to the Dining hall and Group 3 to the library." He explained and ended.

Everyone followed on quickly and to the delight of Hermione, her new-found friend, Harry, was in the same group as she.  
>"Let's work hard, Hermione! We can do this." Harry said reassuringly. Hermione smiled and nodded determinedly. She really liked Harry, although she barely knew him, she felt as if he wasn't like all the rich people she knew. Through this, Hermione realized that those who didn't own as much property or money were usually kinder to her with earnest honesty rather than those that were rich and tried to suck up to her instead.<p>

**Hope you liked it! I'm so sorry I haven't updated but my exams have just finished. I hope to be updating more often. Don't worry, this is still Dramione all the way! RnR please! X **


	5. Alert

I am so so sorry, all of you. I'm currently a month away from my O levels and I'm required to study almost 24/7. I will definitely continue updating afterwards. Probably near the end of Nov or the start of December. I'm so glad that you all like my story and I hope you will all continue reading after I update. X


	6. Chapter 5

Hey all, I managed to write up one chapter for all of you. I'll be back by Nov/Dec so please wait for me till then! x

**Chapter 5: Challenge**

Hermione and Harry followed the large group of about at least two hundred people towards the dining hall. Hermione glanced around nervously, hoping that no one knew her face whatsoever, however everyone seemed to engrossed in whispering and guessing what the challenge was.

"Hey Rion, why are you trying to get into the palace for?" Harry asked, suddenly serious. His eyes stared straight into Hermione's, making her squirm under his gaze.  
>"Well, I-I have an objective to carry out.." Hermione lied, slightly disturbed by his serious look. "What about you?" She continued, trying to push the conversation away from herself.<br>"Oh, well I guess I have an objective to carry out too." He said softly, looking front again. He glanced back to Hermione and then mused upon a thought. "Rion, why not we help each other out? Make sure we both get in, I have a good feeling about you and I really think we could become good friends." Harry said quietly, glancing at Hermione with a little doubt in his eyes.

Hermione's POV:

What's he playing at? Is this some kind of secret scheme? Why does it all seem so suspicious? I decide to just go along, his eyes seemed sincere enough and I honestly don't think he'll do any harm. Even if he did try, I think I can hold him off. I nod inwardly to myself and turn to Harry, giving him a small smile.  
>"Sure, I think that's a great idea." I say.<p>

We finally reach the dining hall and are one of the last few to enter. The dining hall itself is gigantic and is lit up brightly by a crystalline chandelier, hanging heavily from the ceiling and there are several four-seater round tables spread out quite far apart from each other, there are at least 100 of these round tables in the hall, which is absolutely crazy. Many gasps were heard from the crowd of participants but each of them held their breath, not daring to speak a word.

"Welcome, to your first challenge!" A commanding voice announces loudly. All our heads turn to the end of the aisle where a rather tall lady stands donned in a long red velvet dress with her hair perfectly pinned up in a tight bun. She does not smile but gives an acknowledging nod to all of us. I rather like her, she reminds me of Pamelia when I first met her.

"You will be given a turn to carry out certain instructions and then to serve some guests. These are real guests and they will be the ones who will grade you, so I suggest that you work hard to please them." She instructs in her clear voice. "On the piece of parchment that has your group number on it, there is also your number of participation. One person will be assigned to one person while the rest will wait in the next room," She continues, pointing gracefully to two large dark doors.

"Well, I guess this is it. Good luck, Harry." I mumble quietly, giving him another small smile. He smiles in response and gives me a thumbs up.

"Will numbers 1 to 100 stay in the dining hall and head to your respective tables. Each table has a number floating above it. The rest of the participants, please head out of the hall." She speaks again, this time pursing her lips tightly.

Everyone does as she says at record time and I look around the waiting room. I see different kinds of people, a group of ladies that seem extremely relaxed and laughing, probably they have already tried to get in before and are less anxious? I see many others just sitting down and staring at their laps or gazing about. My eyes stop at a certain girl with long white blonde cascading locks. She seems to be completely in her own world as she smiles at me and gazes romantically out of the window. I smile on the inside and warm to her immediately, she seems so special. I decide to walk over to her and see what she was like.

"Hello, I'm Rion Cross" I say, stretching out my hand to her. She looks up at me and blinks twice before slowly grasping my hand in hers. She gives it a light shake and flashes me another one of her dazed smiles.  
>"Hello Rion Cross, I am Luna Lovegood." She introduces herself, hell she even has a dreamy voice. She withdraws her hand and gazes at my clothes.<br>"You have a very beautiful dress, Rion. Did you make it yourself?" She asks me. I realize that she dons a rather unique outfit that makes me realize why she was alone. When I had first looked at her, all I had seen was her hair and her eyes.  
>"Thank you, but no. Did you make yours yourself?" I ask back, trying to maintain the conversation. She nods her head with another dreamy smile and goes back to dazing.<p>

I decide not to probe anymore and just sit beside her as I wait for my turn. Harry had gone in before me and he seemed rather nervous, though I think he'll do just fine.

After about an hour of waiting, the door flings open and the previous group of 100 enters the large room while the rest of us enter the hall. I quickly station myself at table 119 and look around and see that most of the other people have found their places as well.

"Each of you will have a certain kind of table that you must set up within forty minutes. For example, it could be for a European tea party or even a gorgeous banquet dinner. And each of you will have to set up your tables accordingly. You need only set the table for four and you must also choose the food from the large range that we have over there." The lady from before instructs while pointing cooly to the left side of the dining hall.  
>"After forty minutes, your judges will enter and you will serve them your menu as well as be their waiter. I wish you all the best of luck." She finishes and then points her wand at a large clock above the large entrance doors.<p>

"Your time starts now!" She declares.

Everyone seems in a furry and I decide to keep calm. I have seen many different set up of tables before, I am sure I will be able to remember something from back at the palace. I pick up the envelope and I realize that my hands seem to shake. I take a deep breath and steady myself. I glance at the instruction in the envelope and smirk.  
>"Perfect." I let myself say out loud as I place the card back into the envelope.<p>

I walk over to where the tablecloths and silverware are. I collect one white table cloth, one dark red table cloth and four of each of; salad forks, dinner forks, dessert forks, butter spreaders, dinner knives, teaspoons and soup spoons. I place all of them on a silver tray that we are provided with and I continue over to the glassware. They have a rather large selection, varying from grand to fun. I see many people contemplating on what to take and quickly deciding, rushing for time. I take my time and look through all the glassware and finally decide on gold emblazoned plates, bread and butter plates and soup bowls. I place them carefully on the tray and continue on to look at the different goblets and wine glasses. I specifically pick crystalline water goblets and four each of the two different sized wine glasses, one for red wine and one for white wine. I place them all carefully on the tray again and think if I should need anything else.

"Napkins!" I hear a voice say dreamily and I recognize it as Luna's. I almost forgot! I look in her direction and try to catch her eye but she still seems dazed. I wonder if she did it on purpose, well I wouldn't know. I head back to collect four clean white napkins as well an an extra for cleaning and I go back to my table. I take in a deep breath and look at the clock. I still have about thirty minutes.

First I take the white cloth and I place it over the large table, followed by the red table cloth in the other direction, making a contrast between the two colours. I adjust the cloth slightly to ensure they are perpendicular to each other and then start to place the drinking glasses first. The water goblet, red wine glass and white wine glass in concession from left to right. I then place the soup bowls on top of the serving plates and place it in the center, ensuring the designs on both to match perfectly. I then clean the silverware with the extra cloth and place the forks,knives and spoons in their respective orders. I then place the bread and butter plate on the top left beside the water goblet, finishing it with the bread spreader.

I sigh and then head over to the remaining napkins and fold them into a fan and place them inside the soup bowls. I look up to the clock and see I have exactly 11 minutes left and I walk over to the food section to see what is the menu I can choose from. I select the dishes swiftly and give it to the maid servant that is stationed there. She nods politely and I head back to my table to realize I still have another four minutes left. I give the table a last check and decide to get a small vase of white lillies with baby's breath and place it in the center of the table.

Just in time, the clock gongs loudly and I take in a deep breath, finally allowing myself to see how the others have done their tables. I see some very nice tables but at the same time I see some tables that are absolutely ridiculous. I recognize one of the ladies in the room previously that was in the group of the "experienced" however her table was absolutely atrocious. There were rose petals all over the table as well as on the plates. She had obviously gone all out and decided on having an extremely large vase of multi-coloured roses in the center of her table. However she looks smug and happy.

I shake my head with dismay and wonder what was written in her card, if it was written "A train-wreck" she definitely would have gotten it. I then straighten when I realize the guests enter the dining hall. I put on the loveliest smile I can muster and greet them with a small bow.

There are two men and two ladies to each table and suddenly all the other maidservants enter from another door in the dining hall, each pushing a tray.

Well, this is it. I look at the guests at my table and hope they are cooperative, but when are the rich ever?

"Wow, this is amazing!" One of the ladies gush with a smile. I do a hell of a cartwheel in my mind but I keep my body steady. At least they like the table.. I think. One of the maidservants push my tray over to me and I realize it is the Appetizers, red wine and water jug first.

I hope I can do this right.

**I hope you all like it! Till next time x **


	7. Chapter 6

Hi Everyone! I'm finally back and I'm all done with my exams. I'm a little rusty but I hope you like this chapter! x

**Chapter 6: Servitude**

"Well I suppose the set up is alright," the other lady says with a slight edge to her voice. "But I hate lilies." She ends off with a sharp look to Hermione. Hermione's smile falters for a second and bounces back on track.  
>"I am terribly sorry to have chosen something of displeasure for you, I will remember it well." She apologized with a small bow. She knew these kinds of people. They were never satisfied with anything.<p>

"So what do you have for us?" The man with brown curly hair asked with a raised eyebrow. "I hope it's good."  
>Hermione turns back to the trolley and picks up the wine from the bucket of ice. She opens it with a slight flick of her wand and pours it for each of them.<p>

"So you have decided on Elderflower Wine?" The other man with a thick beard questioned. He clucked his tongue and rolled his eyes. Hermione already guessed they wouldn't be rather happy with the choice since it was a cheap wine that was normally drunk by the poorer families.

"Yes. I am sure it will suit your tastes as you drink it with your appetizer." Hermione said as politely as she could, reminding herself what was on the line with these people. On queue, she served the appetizer that she had chosen. Their eyes gazed at the dish with surprise and they all looked at Hermione.

_Hermione's POV:_

"I have to admit, the wine really does compliment the taste of the meat." The picky woman said while eating elegantly.

They continued asking questions, scrutinizing on every single detail of the food, demanding to know everything from where I came from to whether I knew how to cook to whether or not I was a spy. I could tell they were all trying to find as many wrong things about me as they could but I tried not to be brought down and continued to answer as well as I could.

I comforted myself by glancing at the other tables. I could tell I was not the only one in the same predicament and others were even worse. I saw the train-wreck lady crying as she served her guests. The key of all of this was to remain calm and composed.

"Well, I think we're finished here. You've done pretty well, Rion." The man with curly hair said with a small grin. I was a little surprised at the fact that someone like him would even spare a comment to a "Trainee servant" in the Malfoy estate. I gave a grateful smile and bowed again as they left.

I gave a huge sigh of relief and headed back into the back room to find Harry.

"Rion!" Harry shouted from the back corner of the room. I looked over and he was waving and standing with a group of candidates.  
>"Harry, hello." I greeted as I approached him, giving acknowledging nods to the rest of the group standing with him.<br>"Rion, these are some other friends I have made," Harry explained and introduced each of them in order. "This is Seamus, Lavender, Cho, Padma and Neville."

"Nice to meet you all, my name is Rion." I introduced myself with a small smile. I only signed up to be friends with Harry, not the rest of the gang.. But I guess it couldn't be helped. Harry opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by a loud bell.

"Participants, you have all completed the first of the three tasks we have planned. On this projection, if you see your number please exit on the left. If your number is not on this list please head on to the right for your next task." The same voice from before boomed. A projection was set up at the front of the room and everyone raced to the front to take a look. There were many different reactions, from shrieking and jumping up and down to dejectedly walking out from the door on the left.

When I finally made it close enough to the front of the room to see I could not find my number anywhere and my heart raced. They actually passed me! Thank goodness. I quickly looked over to Harry to see him smiling from ear to ear.  
>"Well then, Rion. Let's go!" He said and put his arm around my shoulders, leading me through the door on the right. It was the first time anyone had been this familiar to me and although it felt strange and foreign, it also felt nice. I guess I never really knew this thing called friendship. Although I had friends, we were always so formal and even when we did bond, we never did such acts of familiarity.<p>

I found myself laughing without even realizing and Harry raised his eyebrow. Before I could explain, the same loud voice announced,

"Welcome to your second task. You will be tested on your knowledge here by taking a simulation of a situation and we will judge you based on your reactions to each situation."

"Crap, I hope it won't be too difficult.. Good luck, Rion." Harry muttered to me. I gave him a smile and patted him reassuringly. I really do hope it won't be too difficult...

**End of Chapter 6.**

****Sorry it's so short! I hope you liked it though, till the next chapter! Please RnR! x


	8. Chapter 7

Hallow, I'm really sorry I haven't updated. I never thought I'd actually get reviews asking me to continue the story. So here I am after so many months. Hopefully my English hasn't deteriorated since I started learning everything but English. But enjoy. x

**Chapter 7: Knowledge**

She swept her eyes over her competition. Yes that's what every single one of them were. A competitor, rival and enemy. She came here for one reason and one reason only, to win Draco Malfoy. This was the big competition and he was the trophy. She glanced over at a certain girl that had caught her eye in the previous test. Her curly brown hair seemed too well taken care of along with her large round eyes that seemed too rich to belong here and strangely she felt nostalgic when she was only a meter away from her. However she knew not to underestimate her, seeing as she seemed the most well received out of the other competitors in the previous test.

She was about to observe the familiar girls' friend until she sensed someone behind her.  
>"Belle! Let's go quickly, I can't wait to see how this turns out!" A red-haired girl said enthusiastically to her while tugging at her dress. Belle turned to look at her only friend, the only one she would ever love. The little girl who was still only twelve years old looked up at her with her large brown eyes and reached out to hold Belle's hand.<p>

"Of course Mia, but there is only one way that this is going to end." Belle replied with a small smile. Belle took Mia's hand and walked along with her to the next room. She knew that she had to look out for the two of them, it had always been the two of them from the beginning right to the very end.

"Rion, do you ever think they'd accept the both of us? Maybe not both of us to serve Draco directly, but maybe one or the other?" The messy-haired boy asked her. Hermione felt rather close to Harry even though they had just met, maybe it was because he was probably one of the first male friend she had made that didn't know of her Royal blood. He was also not as stupid as all the princes that her father tried to marry her to and he was definitely not bad looking. He made good conversation, one of which she did not know was possible of men.

"I don't know, but if we work hard then hopefully they will!" Hermione replied brightly. She was determined to get into the castle for many reasons, one was definitely to run away from her own castle and family. But there were other reasons, like to try and understand what the Malfoy family was really like. She had heard many horrible stories from her parents however she believed that there was good in everyone, there was just the question of how much good there was. She also wanted to find out how the "servants" here were treated as well as the villages under their family. But most of all, she wanted to discover how much of herself she could find.

"Hello everyone! I'm Lia. I will be the judge for this test this time round along with three other wizards that have been living for a very long time!" A rather young looking witch announced with an overly bright smile and voice. One that was definitely rare in somewhere like the Malfoy castle. Nevertheless, Hermione and Harry paid close attention to every word she spoke.  
>"This test is, as you know, about knowledge. This knowledge can be different for every single contestant here. We could test you on what can be used to treated a certain sickness or something as simple as what spell is the best to use in order to clean a certain stain. We have three different levels of difficulty and by the end of the test, we will know where each of your skills lie!" She explained, still smiling.<p>

"Well that sounds pretty complicated.." Harry said half-heartedly, already looking defeated. Hermione turned around to face Harry and placed her hands on his shoulders, making him look at her.  
>"Hey, don't give up so easily! Just keep calm and think of the best way to solve the problems they give you. You have an objective, don't you?" Hermione spoke to him seriously. She didn't know why she was so intent in trying to keep him in the competition but she had a good gut feeling and with Harry, she believed that he was honestly a good person.<p>

Harry looked slightly better and gave a small nod, walking off in the direction where they were led. Hermione suddenly felt a jolt, like someone was glaring at her. She quickly scanned the crowd but the only person she met eyes with was Luna from before. Luna smiled dreamily to her and walked on as if nothing had happened.

"Rion Cross aged 18, female." A monotonous-voiced man mumbled as Hermione walked into the examination room. The room was rather large and the 4 judges sat across a large table at the front of the room. She walked to the center of the room and curtsied.  
>"Hello Rion! We'll get straight to it then. Here is the first part of your test." Lia said to Hermione and a large wardrobe was pushed in by two elves. Hermione did her best to hide her displeasure of the slavery of elves and tried to focus on the wardrobe.<p>

She opened up the cupboard and to her dismay it was all in a disarray. A whole flock of cornish pixies flew out, throwing the clothes everywhere. Hermione immediately snatched the wand from under her dress and cast the freezing charm which resulted in all the pixies dropping to the floor immediately and right before they could go a meters radius of the judges. With another quick flick of her wand, all the clothes flew back into the wardrobe neatly according to the colour and length of the gowns. She then closed the wardrobe doors with her own strength and put her wand back underneath her dress.

She couldn't tell if the judges were impressed at all as their faces were all very straight but she knew that she had done her best and she knew that was what counted. Before she could say anything, another large wardrobe was pushed into the center of the room. Hermione gave a little sigh and opened the wardrobe, not knowing what to expect. She saw the thing she feared the most. A large report card with an F on it. She knew immediately what this was.

"Riddikulus!" She casted clearly, The large report card inflated and burst into tiny confetti. She nodded in satisfaction to herself and flicked the boggart back into the wardrobe. After this she could not imagine what could be more difficult. Did everyone have the same tests? These were rather difficult and she couldn't imagine some of the contestants even getting through the first one. While she was pondering this, she suddenly felt somebody behind her. Swiftly she dodged to the side to see the blonde prince behind her.

Draco's POV:

"This is absolutely..." I started to drawl "RIDDIKULUS!" I heard a clear voice casting. Out of my own surprise, I realized that the voice belonged to a girl. This was very rare, I never knew a girl who could cast such a spell, at least not one that would compete to become a servant. I normally had no interest at all in this kind of thing, but I was really bored so I decided that it wouldn't hurt to see who the voice belonged to. As I stood on the balcony above of the examination hall, I saw the owner of the voice.

She looked the opposite of the rest of the girls that took part in this competition. She looked well trained, as observed from the stance she took as she casted her spell, and although she was well groomed, she also looked as though she did not care so much for her appearance. Other girls would be furiously fixing their hair or their gowns after encountering something like that.

I couldn't help but see what kind of person she was on my own. I was too bored and something about her triggered a memory in my mind. Which sounded stupid in my head because firstly, Draco Malfoy was never interested in any woman or girl and secondly, there was no way he knew someone who would be competing in this. I swiftly jumped from the balcony and landed softly on the ground. I slowly walked towards her back, much to the surprise of the judges, however they kept quiet and decided to see what I wanted.

The moment I was right behind her and wanted to grab her shoulder, she dodged before I could even lay a finger on her and she stared at me with her large brown orbs. Shock, surprise and then slowly anger reached her eyes. I didn't even know why I was doing what I was, but she immediately dropped on her knee.

I was slightly disappointed, but then realized that I did see the anger in her eyes. She just knew better than to risk throwing the competition. I smirked and gave a nod to the judges, to tell them that she passed. Lia gave me a knowing smile and nodded as I stalked off without saying anything.

This could get interesting.

**End of Chapter 7**

I hope you liked this chapter! RnR as usual ^^


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